Former Cleveland Councilwoman Sabra Pierce Scott exits the federal courthouse last year following a hearing.Plain Dealer File Photo

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sabra Pierce Scott will receive no prison time for taking a bribe while on Cleveland City Council, a break accorded to no other public officials implicated in the biggest corruption scandal in the region's history.'

U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko scolded Scott on Wednesday for violating the public's trust, but then fulfilled her wish for a sentence of probation rather than time behind bars -- a move that brought applause from some supporters in the courtroom.

Boyko ordered the 54-year-old former councilwoman to serve three years of probation, including eight months of house arrest, to pay $2,000 in restitution, and to teach 20 one-hour classes in ethics to high school or college students.

"Thank you, your honor," a tearful Scott said.

Federal sentencing guidelines would have allowed Boyko to imprison her for eight to 14 months.

To date, all of the other elected officials convicted of corruption related crimes -- including former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and ex-county Auditor Frank Russo -- have received prison terms.

The only defendants to receive probation or house arrest have been contractors and one low-ranking county worker.

Scott, who represented Cleveland's Ward 8 as a Democrat, resigned her council seat midterm in 2009, denying she was aware she was under investigation by the FBI. But two years later, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery involving a federal fund.

As part of the plea deal, she admitted to accepting a $2,000 bribe and soliciting a job for her son from contractor Michael Forlani at his former company, Doan Pyramid Electric, in 2005.

In exchange, she assisted Forlani with a $125 million project near the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in University Circle, located in her East Side ward. The project included a parking garage, an office building and a 122-bed dwelling for homeless veterans.

Scott used her council position to shepherd the project through City Hall from 2005 through 2007, guiding legislation through council committees, helping the developer buy city-owned land, and pushing through an ordinance to provide tax breaks and financing.

Forlani, who has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other corruption, is scheduled to be sentenced April 1.

At Wednesday's sentencing hearing, as many as 60 people appeared in support of Scott. Among them were former councilman Roosevelt Coats and current councilmen Jeff Johnson and Jay Westbrook -- all of whom served with Scott.

Defense lawyer Virginia Davidson told Boyko that Scott's crime paled next to the embarrassment caused by Dimora and Russo, who have been convicted of using their offices to enrich themselves with cash, gambling trips and home improvements.

"Outside this room, people still are enraged about Tiki huts, and hot tubs, and Las Vegas junkets, and a grand scale of excess and corruption -- and well they should be," Davidson said.

In contrast, she said, Scott's conduct "couldn't be farther than that."

Boyko first chastised Scott for her crime. "When you accepted the $2,000 bribe, obviously you broke the public's trust," he said. "You should have known better."

But he later expressed sympathy, lauding Scott for recently earning a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University, her volunteer work, and the daily care she provides for her 27-year-old son, Randell Jr., who was shot by Cleveland police last September.

At the time, police reported seeing a man, later identified as Randell Jr., walking with an open beer just after midnight on the city's East Side. Officers stopped him and discovered he had a gun in his waistband. He was told to keep his hands in the air, according to the police statement. He eventually lowered one hand and was shot in the abdomen. The incident remains under investigation.

Boyko ended the hearing with his order to teach the ethics classes.

"I think young people should benefit from what you've gone through," Boyko said. "In the end, the only thing all of us take to our graves is our reputation. That is your give-back."

After the hearing, the judge said he considered the ethics classes to be the most important element of his sentence.

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